A big welcome to mcshanester29 who has joined the newsletter staff in the War Games department! A special hello to trinicardinal, who has gifted us with a guest article in the Platoon Report!

I hope that you are noticing the many changes we have been making in the Dispatch over the last few months, as we make it a more useful and comprehensive resource. More is yet to come. Starting with this issue, it is our resolution to include coverage of all recent announcements in the Late-breaking News section. As if luck was on our side, this new resolution has been accompanied by a large number of announcements to cover. It's been an eventful two weeks on CC!

Here's what we have on tap for you:

In the Mess Hall you will find the "this and that" which doesn't have a section of its own. StubbsKVM presents the final installment of his play-by-play account of an SoC training game. Safariguy5 presents another installment of the Scum Insider.

On August 2nd, blakebowling announced the formation of a ColourCommittee to pick the new army colours, in preparation for the introduction of 12-player games. 12-player afficionados are salivating at this evidence that this long-awaited upgrade draws closer and closer.

On August 9th, rdsrds2120 made the first announcement in the forum of the new Freedom the Underground Railroad tournament, another CC partnership with a Kickstarter gaming project like the earlier Havoc games. August 9th, however, was not the first chance to join: members who follow CC's Facebook page would have seen the announcement on August 7th!

The second bit of news (in the same post) confirms that there will once again be a contest to design the Season 4 TPA Cup!, just as there was for season 3.

Last but not least, it's not really a new announcement, but macbone has asked me to mention that the SoC Academy is once again in need of some new teachers!

Editor's review: I like to prowl the archives sometimes, and I find some really good articles that I feel deserve to be read again. Here is one such article, written two years ago when koontz1973 first became a Dispatch reporter:Neutrals, Why!by koontz1973 (First published in Issue 53, 22-08-2011)

Neutrals, you can love them or hate them, but we all need them. Why and what are those little pesky things for. On maps they serve a variety of functions. They allow maps to become balanced in play, can give a map there objective or just add another dimension to the masses of maps we have in Conquer Club.

Balance of play.How does having a neutral balance maps out when everything should be random. Well, no map has territories devisable by 2-8 players so instead of having areas of nothing the little white "3" comes into its own. Just think of them as another player, just one that has had its internet privileges taken away. Another way is when they pop up in small bonus areas. If you look at one of the new maps, Golfe Du St. Laurent, it comes with lots of little bonus areas. When it came into Beta play, lots of games finished before round 1 had ended. And the discussion of neutrals started.

Orange-Idaho-Dog wrote:In my team game, team one was dropped 2 bonuses (Labrador & Great North) minus one territory. By round 2 they had both and were unbreakable.

greenoaks wrote:i just started my first game on this map and i wasn't impressed.the other player dropped a bonus, got most of the other bonus and i got neutrals between me and those bonuses. game over.

ender516 wrote:putting a neutral in each of the 3-region bonus zones (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador)

Final word by the mapmaker herself about this was

Tisha wrote:I really dislike neutrals on a map, but understand that the games on the map can be decided before you even get a first turn.

It is always nice to start with a bonus, but not so nice when you are on the receiving end so in went the neutrals.

Conditions for Winning.Many maps come with a winning condition. That special little rule that says "hold A + B" for one round to win the match. Maps like Das Schloss have them. A map that is heavy on the neutrals but with lots of starting positions all over the board. For this map, you have to conquer and hold 4 territories comprising 30 neutrals. Unlike most maps though, it is even harder to eliminate your opponent than it is to get the winning condition as your opponents starting positions are hidden behind 70+ neutrals.

I got the opportunity to ask cairnswk about the neutrals on Das Schloss so here are his reasons for them.

Why so many neutrals?Simply, each neutral territory is one to be conquered from the elements and buildings and hope that you don't come across your enemy too soon. This also helps with the build-your-own bonus structure to some degree.Why the high numbers? By this i guess you mean the Helicopters. The map needed a conquer-all element, and the helicopters were almost the only way to achieve this...it was felt that they should have very high numbers so that it was a last resort kind of thing if you were able to build such a large bonus to conquer them.Do you in any way feel this limits the game or slows it down?Neither. There are two ways of winning the map - the objective and also elimination. None of the neutrals limits the game or slows it down

Fighting your way through a sea of neutrals.A few maps have even more neutrals than Das Schloss, the ones that give you a starting position and a field of white to hack through. Maps like Age of Realms (Might, Magic, Mayhem), City Mogul, Treasure of the Galapagos and the Feudals (War and Epic). These maps have hundreds and in one case thousands of neutrals in them. Why the sea of white, well lets leave that to DiM to answer, the mapmaker who brought us Age of Realms and City Mogul.

Regarding the Age of Realms series, was it always your aim to have so many neutrals and what does it bring to the game in your opinion.back in 2007 me and gimil were bouncing ideas back and forth trying to put something new on the table. we came up with the conquest type gameplay where each player gets a starting point and then he begins exploring through neutrals, claiming bonuses and fighting other players. the large number of neutral terits is essential to making the gameplay immersive. With City Mogul, the big brother of neutral maps, why such high numbers. Would it make it any different if the numbers were reduced especially regarding the winning condition of holding the manor and mall.the idea behind this was very simple and it's all about statistics. it was meant to be a map that promotes agresivity and that removes luck from the equation leaving just strategy. for example a 6v3 battle will depend on the very first roll. if you lose 2 troops and your opponent wins then the game is off to a very bad start for you. with city mogul the battles are with huge numbers where a few bad/good rolls don't matter at all.

When neutrals turn bad. In a lot of maps where neutrals are present, some players see them as a nuisance and just ignore them.

iancanton wrote:the castle in castle lands, which is +2 auto-deploy, has 4 neutrals and it's not always taken.

With Treasure of the Galapagos map, a debate has been going on in reducing the neutrals for the luggers. Right now they are set at 10 but no one wants to play them. I asked cairnswk why.

There is a poll in the foundry to get the luggers reduced in (neutral) value to try and open them up in the game some more. What would be your ideal number?7 is probably best.You have played this map only a few times (12), have you ever gone for the luggers or seen anyone go for them?Yes, I think I tried to go for the luggers before the neutral numbers were increased, but it was very easy to conquer them. I also went for a straight out elimination in one game that i recall wihtout using the luggers.

When neutrals turn very very bad.Infected neutrals is in the suggestions final phase so we may see this soon. This is when the neutrals get a turn and attack. How will this affect games, maps, strategy; no one really knows till it comes live. But for one thing, it will make playing Das Schloss, City Mogul and all of the mentioned maps far more interesting.viewtopic.php?f=535&t=40294

I have recently started as a student in the SoC. I have played 2 games there so far, of which I was able to win one. I decided that in order to attract more people to the SoC, and to show everybody how it works, I would do a turn-by-turn report on a game. Every turn I will share the map of the current turn, my thoughts on the current situation and how it's different from the last turn. I will also share the plans I will send in to the SoC teachers, and their comments on my plan. At last, I will share the outcome of that plan.

Hope you'll enjoy!

StubbsKVM

Turn 7

Click image to enlarge.

StubbsKVM=yellow

ThoughtsPurple has taken South America. Chances of winning are not looking very good at the moment. Well at least i have a set.My PlanSpoils to turn in: Johannesburg(b), Dakar(b), Berlin(r), Anchorage(g), Mexico City(b)Next spoil set value: 6Do you have a set of spoils? yesYour Plans:cash in Dakar, Berlin, Anchorage for 6deploy 2 on F1, 2 on E5, 5 on A9.Attack A12 from A9, move allReinforce all from E5 to E4moving to A12 will guarantee me a card next turn.Teachers commentsLooks good although I don't think you need to fort from E5 to E4...E4 seems to be mostly trapped by your singles and there is no guarantee that somebody will use them for a card spot.ExecutionLost 2 troops, but got a card, which is important at this stage of the game. I took the teachers advice not to fort to E4.

I have recently started as a student in the SoC. I have played 2 games there so far, of which I was able to win one. I decided that in order to attract more people to the SoC, and to show everybody how it works, I would do a turn-by-turn report on a game. Every turn I will share the map of the current turn, my thoughts on the current situation and how it's different from the last turn. I will also share the plans I will send in to the SoC teachers, and their comments on my plan. At last, I will share the outcome of that plan.

Hope you'll enjoy!

StubbsKVM

Turn 8

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StubbsKVM=yellow

ThoughtsPlenty of people have used their sets. But no major movements.My PlanSpoils to turn in: Johannesburg(b), Mexico City(b), Anchorage(g)Next spoil set value: 15Do you have a set of spoils? noYour Plans:2 on A12, 1 on F1Attack A11 from A12, adv 0reinforce 0hoping for a set to take out red.1 lossTeachers commentsLooks good to me...go for it.ExecutionLost 1 troop and got the set. Next turn might be an important one.

I have recently started as a student in the SoC. I have played 2 games there so far, of which I was able to win one. I decided that in order to attract more people to the SoC, and to show everybody how it works, I would do a turn-by-turn report on a game. Every turn I will share the map of the current turn, my thoughts on the current situation and how it's different from the last turn. I will also share the plans I will send in to the SoC teachers, and their comments on my plan. At last, I will share the outcome of that plan.

Hope you'll enjoy!

StubbsKVM

Turn 9

Click image to enlarge.

StubbsKVM=yellow

ThoughtsRed cashed in, so I don't stand a chance to take him out this turn. Hopefully I'll survive until next turn. I'll have to take the chance not to cash in.Also, apologies on the map. I forgot to take a screenshot before I proceeded on the turn, so the map is from after turn 9(not that it matters very much).My PlanSpoils to turn in: Johannesburg(b), Mexico City(b), Anchorage(g), Sydney(r)Next spoil set value: 20Do you have a set of spoils? yesYour Plans:don't cash2 on A12, 1 of F1attack A9 from A12, move 0reinforce 0Teachers commentsYou are in good shape. Let's see what next round brings.ExecutionSuccess. Fireworks next turn.

Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information, Mafia and You, and Rules and Terms of Mafia.Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.

What is "Mafia"?Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.

Mafia NewsA new Official game has started with a Dungeons and Dragons theme. Moderator edocsil has been mum about the specifics but the lawful/chaotic and good/neutral/evil alignments will play a part.

Mafia CalloutsCalling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling:

Sign-ups:

No games are currently in signups, but one should open up soon.

Seeking Replacements:Consult the Replacement Thread to see what games are in need of reserves/replacements.

Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5An anti cult role is discussed this game.

The Deprogrammer

What is It?The Deprogrammer may target a player at night. If the player is cult, they are converted back to their original alignment. This can work even on mafia players who were converted to cult.

ExampleAlice is the deprogrammer and targets Bob who is a cultist but originally was a town watcher. Bob becomes a town watcher again.

How to Play this RoleThe Deprogrammer is almost always Town. The role basically guarantees that there is at least one cult faction. For balance purposes, it would be necessary to make sure that a converted cultist simply doesn't rat out the rest of the cult members. This can be helped by either having multiple cults or concealing cultist identities from each other somehow.

Welcome soldiers to another fine edition of the Platoon Report! The biggest clan events of the year just keep on rolling -- it's hard to believe the last phase of Clan League 5 is over halfway done. Fortunately for you, our reporters once again have great summaries of all you need to know. IcePack kicks off this edition with a look at the finished, ongoing, and some wars that have not yet come to pass in Conquer Cup 4. Our Clan League 5 reporter, Qwert, brings you the latest standings, a look at player transfer counts by clan, and an updated look at the MVP candidates from each league. Last but certainly no least, we have a special freelance report from trinicardinal, who takes a look at the ongoing battles in the 3rd Clan 1v1 Challenge.

Don't forget to let your CDF representatives know what questions you have for the F400 FAQ that IcePack is working on adding to the thread!

MM vs WAR: 15-15 IcePack Predicts: MM AdvancesAfter a slight delay, both MM and WAR are off to a good start. They've been neck and neck pulling in wins since 10-10. Eleven games remain, but MM looks like they are getting ready to take the win. lets take a look at them now:

Round of 16KORT vs TFFS: 13-8 IcePack Predicts: KORT AdvancesKORT moves onto its next war after the KORT vs AKA debacle. TFFS has done well so far, and as leader aaronvollrath notes, the thread is getting plenty of attention. While I expect TFFS to put up a good fight and be excellent sports, I see KORT advancing here.

OSA vs OTP: 5-5 IcePack Predicts: OTP AdvancesThis should be a good war to watch. Expect Freakns will bring plenty of theatrics, as usual - and plenty of penis references. Imo this is a coin toss, which normally I would say is led by benga and OSA. However, in my head it will go to OTP in an "upset".

TSM vs MYTH: 10-7 IcePack Predicts: TSM AdvancesTSM is the favored clan here, while MYTH can definitely hold their own. Once the first round finishes out we will have a good idea of where this war is heading.

IA vs MM or WAR: Not Started IcePack Predicts: IA AdvancesWhile MM and WAR fight for the chance to take on IA, IA gets a short break before facing their next opponent. I predict regardless of who faces IA, IA will advance into the Round of 8.

TOFU vs DYN: 1-2 IcePack Predicts: TOFU AdvancesTOFU were CC3 Champions, and are coming off a bye from the Round of 32. DYN has struggled as of late, but came through with a solid win vs the GR's. Only a few games in, its anybody's game but I strongly suspect TOFU will advance as yet another favorite to go far into the challenge.

RA vs ATL: Not Started IcePack Predicts: ATL AdvancesWhile RA has been climbing in the ranks lately and performing strong, ATL brings a lot of experience to the table as the "new clan smell" slowly wears off their new home. I think this should be a fun war to watch, but ATL in the end should take it by a good margin.

AFOS* vs ACE: Not Started IcePack Predicts: ACE AdvancesAFOS* has not quite secured their position here, but are currently leading the other war to face ACE. This will be an excellent war and hard fought on both sides. On one hand, we have AFOS who were CC3 finalists, but recently had a shake up in members. And on the other, ACE, which is the product of EMP and AOC merger are still gaining experience as a new unified unit. While AFOS were CC3 finalists, I believe ACE will advance in CC4.

ID vs LOW: 3-6 IcePack Predicts: LOW AdvancesBoth clans did extremely well in Round of 32, so this should pose their first big challenge of the CC4. Both have the abillity to beat the other, but LOW has been strong as of late and I predict they will take ID by a decent margin. ID will need to reach deep as the first round takes shape.

In Premier League the new leaders are.... OTP! Excitement is growing, and the distance between 1st and 7th is only 3 points. We will see what new surprises will happen by the next update, and if OTP can manage to stay on top. For rounds 11 and 12 expect some interesting matches ,and one of them is - KORT vs OTP.TNC have still not achieved a win.

OSA manage to stay undefeated, and with more new wins, jump into 1st place with a nice 3 point advantage over 2nd place ID. AOK continues to struggle to take thier first win, and their last 3 matches are have been a nightmare; 1:7 1:7 0:8.

Nothing new in Third League, HH still holds on 1st place .UM8 and AQOH are right behind. This weeks derby is DYN vs AQOH.

The 3rd edition of the Clan 1v1 Challenge is under way with 20 clans signing up for this particular event. Having never gone through a clan 1v1 war before I decided to take a look at what the early results are showing and have summarized them quickly for no other reason than the fact that they're there... Okay maybe also because there's an opportunity to get my name in the newsletter (that should look good on my resume right?)

Early action in this round has HH making it clear that they are not empty headed having already ridden away with 22 points against MB with 13 battles still undecided. OTP attempting to prove similar is one away from sealing the deal on WAR where the score is currently at 20-18. WAR must win their last 3 home maps to take back the result from them. Also rushing ahead, LEG has started with a 15-3 leg up on KNT and will consider their chances to be quite good to take this challenge.

TNC has started their crusade with a 10-3 lead over ATL having won 9 of their home maps and the tiebreaker. They will be looking to maintain that advantage in their attempt to sink their opponents. TFFS (8) and PIG (7) are neck and neck at this point in time. The 2nd set of games should be very interesting with this particular challenge and I am wondering if bacon will be on the menu or not.

OSA have barely stepped ahead on their home maps by a narrow 10-8 margin so far over MD and will have to make sure that they don't trip up on MD's home games who will be looking to prove that their destiny includes a win on these games. FISO's home games against ATN are almost completed and the score currently stands at 14-6 in their favour but it still remains to be seen how much of a caffeine rush FISO will have to survive when ATN's home games are released. Who's going to be sipping on the cappuccino after this one is over?

This is your CC correspondent signing off from the battlefronts and signing into a lunch menu

Hello friends, and welcome to your favourite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments, and other stuff in the Tournament scene!

In this issue, mcshanester29 makes his grand entry into the Tournament Team of the CC Dispatch! He's definitely no stranger to the tournament scene, having the fourth most number of tournaments under his belt among all Tournament Organisers - 220 completed tournaments, and 23 ongoing ones. With so much experience in tournaments, he'll certainly have much to bring to the Tournament Team, especially with his added perspective as a Tournament Directors on the site.

As the nature of his role as a TD and TO involves high volumes of interaction with many of the Tournament Winners, Organisers, and Directors, mcshanester29 will be focusing on bringing us more interviews with these members of the site - including one this week on morleyjoe, and helping out with other feature articles from time to time. It's indeed my pleasure to welcome him aboard!

Meanwhile, DaveH and I continue to deliver our usual goods with the Tournament Tips, TPA Wrap, and Join This? Or Not! sections. Enjoy!

1. How did you come up with your username?That was easy, with my middle name being Morley, first name Joe

2.Anything interesting you want to tell us about yourself?Other than my regular 9-5 job, I teach snowboarding during the winter months.

3.How many tournaments do you usually like to play in on average? Most of my games are tournament games now, other than when I'm chasing medals. So the answer would be as many as possible (or as many ones I see that I like)

4.Do you remember your first tournament win? Which tournament was it? What is the most recent tournament you won? First tournament win came shortly after joining Brethren of the Fat Mermaid (BotFM), ironically called "Castaway 1". Most recent was "jsnyder748's Triples (Random)", with anonymus and Crash_22.

5.Which tournament(s) did you jump up and down for joy cause you were excited when you won?The first few were awesome, and when I won the Conquer Club 2012 US Presidential Elections to become President of CC (http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=161629), that was something to get really excited about.

6.What is your favorite kind of tournament to play in? I like ones that are fairly simple in format, and avoid ones that require you to be a math formula wizard to attempt to figure out the standings or winner. Also like using the same TO's, as they are consistent and don't often drop the ball and keep things updated. That's what I do in my tournaments too (Many Lands tournaments)

7.Do you have a regular team mate that plays with you in tournaments? Or do you like going solo instead? For the longest time I was doing it solo (and still do), or with a member or two of the BotFM. Then babagonosh and I teamed up and went on a killing spree. His goal was to get to the top of the list (he was aiming for second behind HA) at the time, and over a course of 10 months we won 25 tournaments (making up the bulk of my 35 trophies). Since he retired (he left when a TO bumped us out because we weren't good enough for an "elite" event ) I've been teaming up with ndrs, shaneback, and the recently returned kevlove102, all members of Atlantis.

8.What is your favorite map/settings? Tough on to say for both. Lots of favorite maps, and I like any spoils, with lowest on that list being no spoils.

9.What do you like most about the tournament scene?Same comment as my answer to favorite kind of tournament, ones with good TO's. And consistent opponents, with NO deadbeating. And if you were to ask what I dislike the most - slow players! Ones who wait 23 1/2 hours to take a turn.

10.If you could change one thing in the tournament scene what would it be?CC needs to get rid of the 30 medal limits - that's really needed. There are at least 40 of us who have past 30 wins and we should have medals for those.

11.Anything else you would like to add?Thanks for the great questions!!!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!! May many more tournament wins come your way!

I rescued crazymilkshake5's CCSOP TPA2 tournament some months ago and it had the novel concept of recreating the rules of Poker. Players select a map and settings and then all players bid according to the rules of poker (apart from not being able to communicate in order) before setting up the game - the winner taking the chips. From the comments of the guys playing in this tournament, I then decided to have a TPA3 Poker tournament but to try and iron out some of the problems I encounted during the running of the first one.

The main problem was communicating between players for their maps and settings and their bids. The delay in getting map information was an easy one to solve by having all entrants sign up with their map and settings ahead of the start of the games. Communication on bids was difficult to manage as a bid might affect all the other players' bids, so needed a pm updating the thread with the changes, so each game tended to take quite a long time and effort to organise.

I started off with an Excel table of a particular poker game.

Click image to enlarge.

This has all the relevant information; list of players on that table; the map used (as looked up from a table of the players and their maps and settings; their bids and chip positions. The formula used is =VLOOKUP(VLOOKUP(B5,Numbers,2,FALSE),Maps,3,FALSE)) where B5 is the players name and the first lookup is the number that the player has in the table of maps and settings. i.e there is a "Numbers" table of players in alphabetical order together with the row number of their map details in the "Maps" table which has all the players, maps and settings as displayed on the thread.To the right of the table details is the pm text that was sent to all 6 players to initiate the game, the text of the map details being copied from the game table. The button accesses a macro which summarises the table in a form that can be displayed in CC. The coding is:

For i = iRowStart To iRowFinish If i = iRowStart Then A = "[table][tr][td]" 'note that the data is written into the column 2 positions to the right of the data table Else A = A & "[tr][td]" End If For k = iColStart To iColFinish - 1 A = A & Cells(i, k).Value & "[/td][td]" Next k A = A & Cells(i, k).Value & "[/td][/tr]"Next i Cells(iRowStart, iColFinish + 2).Value = A & "[/table]"End Sub

This macro creates the code that is partially visible to the left of the button. This displays the table in the CC thread as:This table is repeated for all the games, with the macro information altered to represent that table only (i.e. the macro number and the variables iRowStart and IRowFinish changed for each table).

Now for the clever bid The cell with the table information is referenced from a different sheet in the spreadsheet containing the rest of the thread text. For instance the tournament thread editing data is copied to the Excel sheet and each table is appended in the following format:

i.e Games!I2 references the cell with the table code in it and the rest of the line of code puts this into a "spoiler" with a title.

The sequence of operations on receiving a bid is therefore as simple as I can possibly make it. I receive a pm with a bid which is copied to the Excel game sheet, say it is "Call". This looks up the stake value (say 100) and adjusts the table values accordingly. I then click the button (to update the table data) and copy the sheet of the tournament thread (which now has the amended table data in a line of it) and replace the Poker thread, so updating the visible information.

All I need now is something to prompt some of the players into a more immediate response!

(These "tips" started off as ones that I used to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. Now, I am looking at other types of tournaments and scoring systems by all you innovative TO's out there. So, if you have a unique scoring system that you would like me to have a go at automating, please let me know and I'll be pleased to try and assist. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to of course. Please note that I have just moved to Excel 2007, so there may be variation in the menu instructions if you have other versions of Excel - and a few hiccups as I get used to it - as some of my tournament players have experienced, unfortunately )

TPA 2 StandingsThere have been no completed tournaments since the last issue although two that I have picked up, CCSOP and Sonic Goes Back to School, are in their final stages. Both have quite novel formats, though they have proved to be quite long tournaments. The Poker tournament, relying on players losing their "money" means that different tables can take widely different times to reduce to two or three players and the "Bidding" process can take quite a while before a game can be released. I have tried to address some of the main issues in my revamped Poker tournament in TPA3 Click for TPA3 Poker Tournament Details. Sonic's tournament, by its very scale, has taken a long time to get to a point where the final year's games could be issued though they are all out now and I can spend the next two weeks preparing the results (though their complexity may require a little longer!). Both have had quite faithful respondents, which indicate that the format is interesting enough to keep players interested - and they have both provided me with articles for my "Tips" series 838 players have taken part in this tournament series.

TPA Season 3After the flurry of completions prior to the last issue, only one tournament has finished since then. Greenoaks "BeNeLux Crack" tournament has Gilligan picking up first place with Wizz00, shoop76 and Enormastitz inthe following three positions. The scoreboard now reads uckuki(5,774), gilligan (3,856), aussie02 (3,218), swifte (3,163), and Theldin (2,497) in the top five positions.408 players have, so far, taken part in this tournament series.

And now for our regular look at a selection of the tournaments in sign-ups! This week features 3 tournaments that offer those pretty General Achievement Medals alongside the usual Tournament Achievement Medal. Not that this was intentional, but it was a very nice coincidence I discovered after selecting the tournaments for this installment! So let's dive right into it without any further ado.

This tournament features 1v1 games on 41 of CC's maps, all of which have been chosen for their high proportion of starting neutral territories as compared to Standard gameplay maps. In each round, you play 2 games - one on your chosen home setting and another on a randomly assigned away setting, and progress to the next round merely by winning at least 1 of these games. A General Achievement Medal is also available for the player who manages to win the most number of away games throughout the tournament. And yes this is rather a shameless advertisement... But it is the first time I'm doing in after 10 issues of abstention!

If you're looking for some excitement and unpredictability, you may want to check out this tournament. The tournament's games will be completely random in all their maps, game types, and settings. Players will earn points based on their performance, and the type of games in question. And though the tournament is open to an unlimited number of signups, only 16 players can make it into the Quarterfinals, with the number of players being halved after each round from there. Points carry over each round, so you have to be on your toes the entire time! A General Achievement Medal will be awarded to the player with the most number of wins at the end of the tournament.

This tournament is modeled after the Barclays Premier League, and features the promotion and relegation aspect of the soccer league. Don't worry, you need no knowledge of the Barclays Premier League to participate in the tournament. The first phase of the tournament has players scoring points based on their performance in 1v1 games in 2 separate leagues - a Premier League where relegated players drop down to the Champions League, and a Champions League where promoted players can hop over to the Premier League for some safety, while relegated players are eliminated altogether.

When there are 12 players remaining, each player then plays 3 random games, with the top 2 players moving straight to the finals, and the next 4 players playing 2 game for the last 2 remaining spots. In the finals, a series of 3 games determine the winner. A General Achievement Medal will also be awarded to the player with the most number of wins in the first 2 phases of the tournament.

BETA, BETA, and more BETA. What a flurry of activity happening on the BETA front. Eight maps in play, including Spanish Armada, with more to come. Tribal War - Ancient Israel is temporarily Closed, but should be back up shorty. Maps in every stage need feedback, so please take a moment and let the Cartographers know your thoughts.

In this issue we go through the Maps in Development, uncover Hidden Symbols Part Two, and Koontz1973 shines a spotlight on one of cairnswk's next masterpieces.

Last issue I talked about the master of hidden images and symbols, Leonardo da Vinci, and how his ability to hide things in plain sight often took his creations from simple to Divine. I then posed the question of whether or not Conquer Club maps had hidden symbols placed by our amazing personalities and artists. After reaching out to some of the best map makers, I learned some really cool things, and over the next few weeks I'll let you in on some of those as well. You might not look at your favorite map the same way again.

One of the best map makers, WidowMakers, and maker of many of your favorites, shared some secrets with us, and on Twitter (@ConquerClub #HiddenSymbols) we asked if you could find Waldo hidden on the Circus Maximus map. Since no one was able to reply with his correct location we went ahead and pointed him out...you can find him in the tower.

So, how many of you had spotted that figure before? If you say never, you're with a lot of players, including myself. Think about how many times you may have played Circus Maximus, Waldo sitting silent watch over your victory, or eventual slaughter. That's just one map, what's amazing is how many maps we have, and how many more symbols might be out there. Am I starting to blow your mind yet?

Thanks WidowMakers for sharing one of your secrets with us.

Recently on Twitter (@ConquerClub #HiddenSymbols) we tweeted, "Monsters! = Can you find the SKULL of the 9th, unsuccessful Wizard?". So how many of you were able to find that skull? And I'll ask again, how many times have you played Monsters! without ever noticing there was a skull at all? According to the great cartographer dolomite13 the story goes, "On the Monsters! map there is a skull just below the P1 powerstone that is in a shadow and hard to see. Originally there were several skulls and bones all around the map including a cow skull but I removes them at some point only leaving the skull behind. In my mind that skull is that of a wizard that came looking for the powerstones but was unsuccessful in his quest." Pretty cool huh?

Again, be sure to follow CC on Twitter (@ConquerClub) for some opportunities to get clues, hints, and maps to look at more closely.

Map Name: The Race to Promontory PointMapmaker(s):cairnswkNumber of Territories:37Special Features:Starting Neutrals, autodeploysWhat Makes This Map Worthy of Being Made:1. main reason - small 1v1 map that is a couple of rounds long2. easy-peasy, quick games3. pertinent to the USA, this was a battle between 2 railroad companies to see who could build their section of line first.4. some rail fans and 1v1 fans might like it

Some maps are easy to make. An idea pops into the map makers head and six months later a map is in beta. Some maps though take a little more time to get through the foundry. cairnswk is one such map maker that likes to take his time over his maps. Going so far as to question every little point raised by anyone, even the game play cartoes. Very few map makers take this route but this is one of the reasons so many players have a respect for this one individual (once in play, very few changes are needed). Whilst cairnswk likes to make maps with little quirks about them (look at the newly released Spanish Armada) this one seems to have very few cairnswk traits about it.

A simple straight forward map that will satisfy all players and can easily be seen as a step ahead of some of the other maps designed for two players. The reason for this is that whilst maps like Arms Race, Trench Warfair and Knights are good for two players, they have had to allow larger games to be played on them. The Race has been designed solely for two players. If you have more than that, you will never play it.

So will cairnswk make it another first for him and get the first 2 player map made? Or will it end up gathering dust in the bin like the last map for two players? Only time will tell, but I hope he gets this one done as whilst I am not a fan of the two player game, this map intrigues me, just like cairns himself.

And as Alex Berger said, "Maps are the foundation on which adventure is built." Enjoy.

ViperOverLord wrote:I was interviewed for a Meet the TO segment a few weeks back. It didn't make the last newsletter or this one. I guess my answers weren't good enough for them.

I checked and your interview has already been marked as complete and ready to print in issue 102.

Ah. I thought maybe I jumped the gun. I just never got a follow-up; so I had figured....Anyhow, I didn't realize there was an elaborate process in place. I just figured it was all scrapped together very quickly.

ViperOverLord wrote:I was interviewed for a Meet the TO segment a few weeks back. It didn't make the last newsletter or this one. I guess my answers weren't good enough for them.

I checked and your interview has already been marked as complete and ready to print in issue 102.

Ah. I thought maybe I jumped the gun. I just never got a follow-up; so I had figured....Anyhow, I didn't realize there was an elaborate process in place. I just figured it was all scrapped together very quickly.

I guess as Tournament Executive I can give you an idea of what happened behind the scenes (:

mcshanester29 only officially joined the team after Issue 100, and he was working on 2 interviews in the short time between his joining and the assembly of our section of the Dispatch. I was on vacation from 14th to 18th August, so I asked my writers to have their articles done by the 13th.

We prefer to proofread our articles before letting them go into publishing, and mcshanester29 still had to do that on top of the formatting for both his interviews, as well as his regular TO and TD duties. In the end we decided to stagger the interviews, and let morleyjoe's run first because it was easier to proofread with the shorter answers.

So yep, don't worry, your answers are great material! I can't wait to have it published (: